Some 160 thousand Palestinians in Hebron are currently locked in what locals describe as a “ghetto” following Saturday night’s military closure of all entrances to the city. Apart from one entrance manned by Israeli troops, all others have been closed by sandbags, boulders and dirt mounds.
Tharwat Sharawi, age 72, was shot and killed by Israeli forces Friday morning as she drove in Halhul, north of Hebron. Israeli authorities claim she attempted to run over soldiers and was subsequently shot. Her death was pronounced at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital, which reported that she was dead upon arrival.
Sharawi was the 74th Palestinian killed since the beginning of October by Israeli forces.
No Israeli injuries were reported.
Clashes erupted following the shooting of Sharawi and 17 Palestinians were wounded throughout the city of Hebron, 14 of them from live ammunition. The Health Work Committees medical centre reports that nine Palestinians were wounded by live fire in the city of Halhul, whilst three were wounded by live fire in the nearby town of Beit Ummar. Clashes further took place in the al Aroub and al Fawwar refugee camps in the southern Hebron district.
Three Israeli soldiers were shot and wounded Friday in Hebron’s Old City. Israeli authorities arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of the shooting.
Israeli settlers reportedly stoned numerous Palestinian-owned homes near downtown Hebron’s Ibrahimi mosque and in the area west of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba.
Soldiers furthered invaded the office of local activist group Youth against Settlements, holding the group’s head, Issa Amro, inside with Italian journalist Francesca Borri.
The Palestinian news agency Ma’an reports that a German activist had also been held there, but the German embassy was able to secure his release.
Israeli forces arrested 17 Palestinians late Saturday night and early Sunday in Hebron and nearby towns. The Palestinian News and Info Agency reports that six Palestinians were arrested from their homes in Hebron; three in the town of Bani Na’im; three in the al Aroub and al Fawwar refugee camps; two in the town of Yatta; one in Dahiriya; one in Beit Ummar; and one in Idna.